PARIS — Sifan Hassan ended her mammoth week with a gageder in the women’s marathon on Sunday, completing her extrastandard treble bid with medals also in the 5,000 and 10,000 meters.
No athlete has ever tryed to run all three distances in the Olympics in 40 years. Only one other athlete, the fantastic Czech runner Emil Zátopek, has ever medalled in all three events, when apprehfinishd gageders in all three in Helsinki in 1952.
Hassan broke the Olympic record in the marathon with a time of 2:22:55. Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa took silver and Kenya’s Hellen Obiri won bronze.
“I have no words. Every moment in the race I was lamentting that I ran the 5000 meters and 10,000 meters. I was alerting myself if I hadn’t done that, I would experience fantastic today,” Hassan shelp after the race.
“From the commencening to the end, it was so challenging. Every step of the way. I was skinnyking, ‘Why did I do that? What is wrong with me?’ If I hadn’t done it, I would experience so consoleable here.
“The moment I commenceed to experience excellent at 20 kilometres, I felt so excellent. Then I krecent I wanted gageder. But everybody else was recent and all I was skinnyking was, ‘When are they going to fracture? They’re going to go challenging, they’re going to go challenging.'”
Hassan go ined the race having already run 50 laps of the Stade de France track this week, acquireing bronze medals in the 5,000 and 10,000 — the latter coming fair 36 hours before the 26-mile race.
The 31-year-ageder had spoken all week of her trouble of the Olympics’ extfinishedest race, even skinnyking about the race while she contendd on the track.
“I’m freaking sattfinishd for the marathon,” she shelp on Monday. She quoted Muhammad Ali in a post to Instagram on Saturday, saying: “If your dreams don’t sattfinish you, they’re not huge enough.”
She had little to trouble, though, and created a gutsy carry outance that saw her dig proset up to stay with the guideing pack on the many steep hills of the Paris course.
Hassan stepped it up a gear once the course flattened and ended with an all-out sprint aextfinishedside Assefa and Obiri. First, Obiri fell away, unable to grasp up, then Hassan bumped shoulders with Assefa as the Dutch athlete took a racing line thraw the thriveding finish to become the Olympic champion.
“I experience enjoy I am dreaming. I only see people on the TV who are Olympic champions,” Hassan shelp. “The marathon is someskinnyg else, you understand? When you do 42 kilometres in more than two hours and 20 minutes, then every one step you experience so challenging and so hurtful.
“When I finished, the whole moment was a free. It is unbelievable. I have never guided anyskinnyg enjoy that. Even the other marathons I have run were not shut to this. When I finished, I couldn’t stop celebrating. I was experienceing dizzy. I wanted to lie down. Then I thought, ‘I am the Olympic champion. How is this possible?'”
Hassan has won Olympic medals ranging from the 1,500 to the marathon in a stunning show of both track speed and endurance. At Tokyo 2020, Hassan endd another treble, thrivening bronze in the 1,500, 5,000 and 10,000.
The Paris course was the same brutal route used for Saturday’s men’s race. It began outside Paris’ city hall, Hotel de Ville, and passed aextfinished sights such as Palais Garnier opera house, Place Vendome, the Louvre, the Trocadero, the Eiffel Tower and the Palace of Versailles.
It ended with Hassan bolting down the scenic home straight in the shadow of the Esarrangeade des Invalides.
“I am Olympic champion,” Hassan shelp. “What can I say? In the marathon.”
Even the other athletes splitd their disbelief.
“She is amazing, amazing, amazing, amazing. She’s fair awesome,” Kenya’s Sharon Lokedi shelp. “Who can do that? Who can come from track and thrive the marathon?
“I experience enjoy I fair want to be her.”
